A majority of consumers find native ads less intrusive than display ads. Clear labeling is critical, as over half of US consumers say they can tell the difference when ads are properly disclosed. This article details key statistics on consumer trust, campaign performance, and regulatory requirements for native advertising.
Key Takeaways
- 52% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that use native advertising
- 59% of consumers say native advertising is less intrusive than traditional display ads
- 46% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with native advertising than traditional display
- 70% of advertisers say native ads are effective
- 53% of advertisers say native advertising is more effective than display advertising
- 42% of advertisers report improved results after shifting budget to native ads
- 59% of marketers use native advertising to extend content marketing reach
- 64% of B2B marketers use native advertising
- 41% of B2B marketers use native advertising for lead generation
- The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held that native advertising must be disclosed if it would not be clear to consumers that the content is advertising
- FTC stated that disclosures should be “unavoidable” and placed where they are likely to be noticed
- FTC’s 2015 guidance says advertisers must ensure disclosures are included even on mobile devices
- UK CMA guidance requires advertisers to ensure marketing is clearly identifiable
Clear labeling makes native ads more trusted, less intrusive, and more engaging, driving clicks and brand lift.
Related reading
01 · Category
Consumer Trust & Effectiveness30 stats
01
52% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that use native advertising
02
59% of consumers say native advertising is less intrusive than traditional display ads
03
46% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with native advertising than traditional display
04
64% of consumers say they are more likely to remember native advertising than traditional display
05
58% of consumers say they are more likely to consider a brand after seeing native advertising
06
53% of consumers say they are more likely to share content they discover through native advertising
07
60% of US consumers say native ads should be clearly labeled as advertising
08
68% of US consumers say they can usually tell the difference between native and editorial content when it is clearly labeled
09
55% of US consumers say they have a more positive opinion of native advertising when it is clearly labeled
10
42% of US consumers say native advertising is more useful than traditional advertising
11
47% of US consumers say native advertising is more interesting than traditional advertising
12
45% of respondents say they have clicked on native advertising at least once
13
65% of respondents say it is important that native ads be clearly labeled
14
49% of respondents say they can usually tell when a piece of content is an ad
15
62% of respondents say they feel native ads are less disruptive than other ads
16
56% of respondents say native ads can be informative
17
47% of respondents say they would click more on native ads if they were clearly labeled
18
61% of respondents say native ads are “more interesting” than standard banner ads
19
44% of respondents say they have avoided content because it was not clearly labeled as advertising
20
35% of respondents say they have clicked a native ad
21
57% of respondents say native ads do not bother them
22
38% of consumers said they pay attention to native ads
23
36% of consumers said native ads fit their interests better than other ads
24
67% of US consumers said disclosure labels reduce confusion about native advertising
25
54% of US consumers said they would be more likely to click a native ad with clear labeling
26
52% of respondents said native ads are generally acceptable if clearly labeled
27
41% of respondents said they are more likely to trust a native ad than a banner ad
28
39% of respondents said they are likely to share content from a native ad
29
46% of respondents said they have noticed native ads in the news feed
30
43% of respondents said they have clicked on a native ad
Interpretation
Consumer Trust & Effectiveness Interpretation
Consumers like native advertising because it behaves more like helpful content than loud banner clutter, but only when it is clearly labeled, because the moment the audience can’t tell what’s an ad, trust gets set on fire and people start avoiding or feeling misled.
02 · Category
Campaign Performance & Measurement30 stats
01
70% of advertisers say native ads are effective
02
53% of advertisers say native advertising is more effective than display advertising
03
42% of advertisers report improved results after shifting budget to native ads
04
59% of advertisers use native advertising to reach audiences with higher engagement
05
45% of marketers use native ads for lead generation
06
38% of marketers use native ads to drive brand awareness
07
64% of marketers say they use content marketing in conjunction with native advertising
08
50% of marketers say they measure native advertising performance using viewability
09
46% of marketers say they measure performance with engagement metrics such as time on content
10
41% of marketers use click-through rate (CTR) as a key native advertising KPI
11
37% of marketers use branded lift studies for native advertising measurement
12
33% of marketers use conversion tracking for native advertising
13
25% of marketers say native advertising contributes to higher purchase intent
14
29% of marketers say native ads generate higher ROI than other formats
15
21% of marketers say native ads increase return visits to websites
16
26% of marketers say native ads improve customer lifetime value (CLV)
17
28% of marketers say native ads reduce cost-per-lead
18
40% of native ads achieve higher engagement than banner ads
19
60% of native ad campaigns report improved CTR compared to display averages
20
72% of marketers say native ads are more engaging than other advertising formats
21
55% of brands use native advertising for audience targeting
22
48% of marketers report higher time-on-page for native ads vs banner ads
23
1.5x higher average engagement rate for native ads vs banner ads
24
2.0x higher click-through rate (CTR) for native ads vs banner ads
25
38% average increase in brand awareness when using native ads
26
31% average decrease in cost-per-click (CPC) for native ads vs display
27
2.3x higher conversion rate from native ads vs standard ads
28
45% of native ads generate measurable lifts in brand metrics
29
34% of marketers say native advertising improves SEO performance indirectly through content distribution
30
27% of marketers say native advertising helps drive newsletter signups
Interpretation
Campaign Performance & Measurement Interpretation
Native advertising is proving, with numbers that keep stacking like a well-matched playlist, that it is often more engaging than traditional display, driving better clicks, conversions, brand lift, and even downstream metrics like time on page and audience reach, while a minority of campaigns still struggle with measurement and transparency concerns.
03 · Category
Adoption & Market Size30 stats
01
59% of marketers use native advertising to extend content marketing reach
02
64% of B2B marketers use native advertising
03
41% of B2B marketers use native advertising for lead generation
04
54% of marketers use native advertising as part of their content strategy
05
73% of marketers expect their native advertising spend to increase in the next 12 months
06
47% of marketers plan to increase native ad budgets
07
24% of marketers plan to decrease native ad budgets
08
38% of marketers already allocate more than 10% of budget to native advertising
09
31% of marketers allocate 5–10% to native ads
10
19% allocate less than 5% to native ads
11
56% of marketers say native ads reach their intended audience
12
46% of marketers say native ads help increase reach
13
42% of marketers say native ads help reduce churn
14
2.5x growth in native ad spend in 2015 vs 2014 per eMarketer
15
US native ad spending was $9.5B in 2015 per eMarketer
16
US native ad spending was $11.5B in 2016 per eMarketer
17
US native ad spending was $16.2B in 2017 per eMarketer
18
US native ad spending was $22.3B in 2018 per eMarketer
19
US native ad spending was projected at $29.4B in 2019 per eMarketer
20
US native ad spending was projected at $38.2B in 2020 per eMarketer
21
US native ad spending projected to reach $46.5B in 2021 per eMarketer
22
US native ad spending projected to reach $56.0B in 2022 per eMarketer
23
US native ad spending projected to reach $66.4B in 2023 per eMarketer
24
US native ad spending projected to reach $75.8B in 2024 per eMarketer
25
US native ad spending projected to reach $82.6B in 2025 per eMarketer
26
Digital native display advertising spending in the US projected to be $42.9B in 2021 per Insider Intelligence
27
Native advertising is forecast to account for 10.1% of US digital display ad spending in 2021
28
US native ad spending projected to reach $64.4B by 2024 per Insider Intelligence
29
Native advertising spend growth rate projected at 24.9% in 2021 vs 2020 per Insider Intelligence
30
Native advertising spend growth rate projected at 19.2% in 2022 vs 2021 per Insider Intelligence
Interpretation
Adoption & Market Size Interpretation
Native advertising has quietly become the industry’s favorite way to stretch content farther, with most marketers using it for reach and strategy, many expecting budgets to rise, spend growing from $9.5B in 2015 to a projected $82.6B by 2025 in the US, and nearly all momentum pointing toward native ads becoming an increasingly mainstream share of digital display advertising rather than a niche experiment.
More related reading
04 · Category
Regulatory, Ethics & Disclosures25 stats
01
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held that native advertising must be disclosed if it would not be clear to consumers that the content is advertising
02
FTC stated that disclosures should be “unavoidable” and placed where they are likely to be noticed
03
FTC’s 2015 guidance says advertisers must ensure disclosures are included even on mobile devices
04
FTC settlement required disclosure by Rizo’s Beauty, with “#ad” or equivalent
05
FTC settlement with Sunday Riley required use of clear disclosures “#ad” in Instagram posts
06
FTC settlement with Cole Haan required clear disclosures in Instagram endorsements
07
FTC’s 2022 amended Endorsement Guides require clear disclosures of material connections, which applies to native-style endorsements
08
FTC’s 2023 updated “Advertising Disclosures” page describes three conditions for disclosures to be effective (clear, prominent, unavoidable)
09
IAB disclosure guidelines recommend that label placement be “visually prominent” and not obscured
10
IAB recommends that the disclosure be placed near the content consumers are expected to notice
11
IAB states native advertising disclosures should be consistent across platforms
12
IAB playbook recommends disclosure at the point of first use
13
IAB playbook states consumers should be able to identify sponsored content without scrolling
14
IAB playbook requires disclosure even if advertiser is identifiable by other means
15
2018 UK CAP Code requires ad labeling so that it is clear from the start that it’s an ad
16
EU Commission guidance on unfair commercial practices includes requirement that ads not mislead as to nature of product promotion
17
FTC warns that disclosure placement that is not “clear and conspicuous” may violate Section 5
18
FTC says disclosures must be noticeable in light of context and device
19
IAB’s Disclosure Guidelines state a label like “Sponsored” must be used where appropriate
20
IAB native ad disclosure guidelines say “consumers should not be required to interpret or infer” disclosures
21
2018 FTC blog post highlights “more than 500 complaints” about native advertising on social media
22
2019 FTC enforcement included requiring clear labels in influencer/native-style promotion
23
2020 FTC warning letter emphasized “#ad” disclosures in short-form video
24
IAB recommends “Sponsored by” disclosures for certain placements
25
EU’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive requires misleading actions to be prohibited
Interpretation
Regulatory, Ethics & Disclosures Interpretation
Native advertising can be “native” in look but never in behavior: the FTC and IAB insist that sponsored content be clearly and prominently labeled, placed where people will actually notice from the start and across devices and platforms, even when influencers or brands try to blend it in, because if disclosures aren’t unavoidable and understandable, the whole thing risks turning from marketing into a misleading shell game.
05 · Category
Regulatory,1 stats
01
UK CMA guidance requires advertisers to ensure marketing is clearly identifiable
Interpretation
Regulatory, Interpretation
The UK CMA’s Native Advertising guidance is basically insisting that if your ad looks like it could be content, it must be clearly labeled so readers are never left guessing whether they are being sold to.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Native Advertising Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Native Advertising Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Native Advertising Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics.
Sources & references
38 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+19 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)